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Hdrmstmt Uaily THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006 The Home Journal's SANDLOT TtffIWUNWV ON DECK High school Cross country Today ■ Houston County Championship, 5 p.m., field behind Pearl Stephens Elementary School. High school Softball Today ■ GHSA Elite Eight at Columbus (softball complex): Warner Robins versus Woodstock, 4 p.m.; Houston County versus Peachtree Ridge. 4 p.m. Friday/Saturday ■ GHSA Final Four at Columbus (softball complex): Warner Robins and Houston County, to be determined High school Football Friday ■ Warner Robins at Tift County, 7:30 p.m. ■ Pinewood at Westfield, 8 p.m. ■ Southwest at Perry, 7:30 p.m. High school Volleyball Saturday ■ Houston County at state tour nament at Berkmar (versus to be determined), 9 a.m. IN BRIEF HoCo swim team to hold car wash fund-raiser The Houston County High School swim team is having a Car Wash Sunday at the Wal mart on Watson Blvd. (in the Garden Department) from 1-6 p.m. Ail proceeds benefit the swim team members. Also, the Houston County High School swim team is sponsoring a Coke sale - S2O per case of 24. Drinks include carbonated beverages. Dasani Water, Powerade. Minute Maid bottled drinks, Hi-C juice boxes. Orders must be placed by Nov. 3 with delivery before Thanksgiving. To place an order call 478- 954-6833. WR Rec to begin basketball registration The Warner Robins Recreation Department has begun basket ball registration. Registration will continue at their office on Watson Blvd. - until all ages ages/teams are filled - during regular business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday- Friday. Participants must be at least 5 by Dec. 31 in order to participate in the basketball pro gram. Fees are as follows: $25 for city residents, SSO for county residents and SBS for out of county residents. In addition, coaches are also needed. Call 929-1916 for more information. Habitat to hold softball tourney fund-raiser The Houston County Habitat for Humanity will hold a softball tournament Nov. 6, proceeds of which are to go toward the Houston County Habitat for Humanity. The cost is S3OO per team - teams must have at least nine people with a maximum of 15. Trophies will be awarded and the first pitch is slated to be thrown at 9 a.m. Call 218-5545 or e-mail kcripe@flintemc.com for more information. Waterford to hold Junior Golf Clinic Waterford Golf Course will hold a Junior Golf Clinic Nov. 20-21. Times are: 10-11:15 for ages 5-10; 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. for those ages 11 and up. The cost is SSO which includes lunch for both day, prizes and more. Visit the course to sign up. Landings offers Junior Super Saturdays The Landings Golf Learning Center is currently offering Junior Super Saturdays: October Group Lessons. The cost is $lO per visit with no signup nec essary. Contact Bill Goggin at 923-5222 Ext. 4 for more. HoCo, WR prepare for Elite Eight By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer What a reward for a 3- O performance in the south sectional softball tourna ment. Warner Robins High now gets to open the GHSA Class AAAAA Elite Eight tournament against the team ranked No. 1 in the In Mutate PHHWktT .. |> if ■ f V T .Journal Matthew Brown Bears senior Bethany Crenshaw coasts into second, Saturday in Dublin. —— _ —~—'—'—-—' ~ —— ENI/Gary Harmon Runners take off at the start of the GISA state meet Saturday in Macon. For more, see 28. Pulling the plug on champions; softball no surprise Will we ever/have we ever had a “true” champion? In baseball we have Detroit and St. Louis currently battling for the World Series title but are they the best to come out of Major League Baseball? In the NFL some teams rise to the top, some head to the bottom. But is the one that ends up with the Super Bowl trophy typically the best at the end? NASCAR is all over its own band wagon right now, tooting its horn worse than a road-rage Californian stuck in traffic. But are the 10 in the Chase the best? If you were/are a Westfield fan and had seen the Hornets in their opener against John Milledge, with Austin Madruga in the backfield and a slew of others healthy you would be think ing: ‘’’This’ is the year!” But look at them today - 1-5-1 overall, 0-3 in the region and fighting for their playoff lives. The answer then: It’s all a debate. Sports last coaches poll of the regu lar season. Houston County High, the Region 1-AAAAA cham pions, would have had a hard time avoiding a ranked club itself at the start of the Elite Eight. After going 3-0 in elimination games of the south sectional Saturday It’s the stuff of lob byists. It’s one of the things that makes sports great. No matter how great your team there’s always somebody with a story. “Yeah well,” Tony Stewart fans say, “If it hadn’t been for that ‘one’ race When it’s over with Jeff Burton or Jimmie Johnson or Junior or Kasey Kahne fans may be saying: “Yeah well. If it hadn’t been for that ‘one’ race ...” And then there’s Brave fans: “Well, the Mets beat us but if we had made the pitching changes we made late in the year earlier in the year ...” And on an on it goes. Even when it appears we have a clear-cut cham pion, such as in the case of Lance Armstrong, there’s always somebody waiting in the wings with an answer to qualify for a trip to Columbus, the Bears drew No. 7 Peachtree Ridge for its first game Thursday. In that final poll, all of the top 10 teams came from three regions (5, 6 and 7), which were a part of the north sec tional. There was only room for four teams from each of the two sectionals for the Elite Eight, and 1-AAAAA schools grabbed three of the spots from the south sec tional. Lowndes, which finished fourth in the Houston- Warner Robins league, staged three straight upsets in Dublin Saturday. That included back-to-back wins against the powers of Region 2-AAAAA, Union Grove and Luella. WARNER RORINS Don’t tell Brenda Arnett, Demonettes head coach since 1984, about Woodstock’s No. 1 ranking. After all, she said a poll is simply based on somebody’s opinion and not necessarily on who truly is the best team in the state. She is looking at the Elite Eight as middle Georgia’s chance to shine against Atlanta and its northern suburbs. Woodstock High is in Cherokee County and had to play an extra game in the north sectional to qualify for Columbus. “I think we’re capable of beating anybody we come up against,” said Arnett. “We’re playing good ball. We’re not even looking at it like that. Off and running on why they’re not. Will we ever have a true cham pion, an inarguable hands-down, no chance of a rebuttal in-your-face king of the hill? You talk to a 2004 Demon fan and your answer is: “We already have.” You talk to a Bear fan from that circa and the answer is: “Not so fast there ...” So the question remains: Will we ever/have we ever had a “true” champion? ... A word on softball in Houston County if you will. Westfield’s state title win and the Lady Bears and Demonettes’ success in the playoffs has come as a surprise to some. But it shouldn’t. This - and “this” can be in reference to health of the “overall” programs in general - has been coming for some time. At least since 2002. Did you know that some of the names on Houston County’s and Warner Robins’ roster (Amber Conlon, Amy Hutchinson, Don Moncrief Journal Sports Editor r *i The Demonettes’ Amber Conlon heads to second, Saturday in Dublin. 'fournaMVlatthpw Brown We’re just playing the team that we’ve been chosen to play.” She has more than a few players who are no strangers to a big tournament atmo sphere, be it at the state or the national level in the summer traveling season. In fact, starters Amber Conlon, Lauren Graham and Jensen Barrett were a part of the Warner Robins American Little League team that played in a World Series in Oregon. If Arnett can get the kind of pitching she got at the south sectional in Dublin, it could lead to the first Warner Robins fastpitch state cham pionship to go with the two Arnett won in the slow-pitch days. _v = “It’ll probably come down to pitching and some small game stuff,” she said. “It’s going to be some tough games. I don’t want any of them to be a blowout.” Kristen Graham, a junior, threw a seven-inning shut out against Union Grove in Dublin Friday, then on Saturday went the distance for the clinching win, 3-2, over Newnan. She too has pitched in big games in trav el ball events, but said none was bigger than that last game in the sectional. “At first I was nervous, then once I threw that first pitch it all left,” said Graham. “This has more of a local thing than travel ball does.” See ELITE, page iB Lauren Graham and Jensen Barrett for the Demonettes and Kaitlyn Carriker for the Lady Bears; and some others graduated last year) were on the roster for the Warner Robins American Little League that played in the Little League World Series that year? And even for those that didn’t or weren’t a part of that time, just about every name is recognizable in regard to being on travel teams. And not just being on travel teams, these are travel teams that have won (first on more than one occasion) - at the highest level (that experience should bode well in the playoffs). So for softball to be at its apex in Houston County (even though the Lady Eagles had an off year, they set a school record in wins last year and some of their players also pldyed in the USSSA World Series as part of the Warner Robins National League) is no surprise. The only thing for us as fans to do is: Sit back, relax and watch! SECTION B